Composer: Nishimura, Akira (b. 1953)

Irvine Arditti is turning 60 this year, but the real landmark perhaps comes next year, when his eponymous string quartet turns 40. The astonishing amount of good they have done contemporary music in this time deserves a ton of celebration in 2014.

The final concert in this day-long exploration of Japanese music turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag. It is likely that, with the exception of Toru Takemitsu, few average Western audiences would be familiar with the composers featured in this programme.